ASUP Calls for Immediate Implementation of N77,000 Minimum Wage and Adequate Funding for Ogun Polytechnics Amid Ongoing Strike
The Joint Action Committee of the Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP) in Ogun State has called for the immediate implementation of the newly approved N77,000 minimum wage for polytechnic workers in the state. The union expressed concern that despite the fact that Governor Dapo Abiodun approved the new wage for other civil servants two months ago, polytechnic staff have yet to benefit from it.
In addition to the wage issue, ASUP also criticized the state government’s neglect of polytechnic education, particularly highlighting the inadequate funding of these institutions. The union condemned the government’s failure to increase the monthly subvention of N5 million that polytechnics in Ogun have been receiving for the past 15 years, despite the worsening economic situation and inflation.
The Zonal Coordinator of ASUP Zone C, Nurudeen Masopa, made these statements during a press briefing held at Moshood Abiola Polytechnic in Abeokuta on Thursday. Attending the briefing were union chairmen from the six government-owned polytechnics in Ogun State, including Moshood Abiola Polytechnic, Ogun State Institute of Technology, Abraham Adesanya Polytechnic, D S Adegbenro ICT Polytechnic, Ogun State ICT Polytechnic, and Ogun State Polytechnic of Allied Health and Sciences.
Masopa emphasized that it is the constitutional responsibility of the state government, as the proprietor of these institutions, to adequately fund them. Unfortunately, he noted, the government has failed in this regard, with the polytechnics depending largely on periodic interventions from the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (Tetfund) to stay afloat.
He pointed out that the current monthly subvention of N5 million for each polytechnic is grossly insufficient given the current economic challenges. Furthermore, the union condemned the non-implementation of the newly approved minimum wage in Ogun State-owned polytechnics, as well as the non-implementation of the 25%/35% salary increase mandated by the National Salaries, Incomes, and Wages Commission (NSIWC), which has been withheld since January 2023. The union also highlighted the ongoing non-implementation of the CONTISS 15 salary migration for the past decade and the selective application of the Federal Polytechnic Act 2019 in the state.
In addition to these issues, Masopa criticized the exclusion of polytechnic staff from the implementation of the peculiar allowance and the lack of attention to their welfare. He also noted that the union’s ongoing two-week strike, which began on December 2, is due to the failure of the National Board of Technical Education to meet the timelines agreed upon in a tripartite meeting held by the Federal Ministry of Education regarding the contentious Scheme of Service.
Other grievances include the violation of the Federal Polytechnic Act (as amended in 2019) in the appointment processes at Federal Polytechnic Nekede and Federal Polytechnic Wanune, and the failure to release the 2023 NEEDS Assessment intervention funds.
Masopa warned that if the government does not show a commitment to addressing these issues by the end of the two-week strike, ASUP will convene to determine the next steps in their actions.
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